Jewish Plays Project: Developing New Plays with “Artistic Democracy”
The Jewish Plays Project nurtures Jewish plays and playwrights with continuing support and its unique contest.
How to Celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month
Many are unaware of Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM), So we put together a few resources for our readers. There are links to share, enlightening reads, and events to attend online or (gasp) in-person.
“An Open Invitation Back to Judaism”: Actor Nemuna Ceesay on Passover and Embracing Her Jewish Roots
“Rabbi Kendell had us studying the Bible from a place of curiosity, leaving room to both challenge what we were reading and find connections to it.”
The New Jewish Culture Fellowship: Nurturing the Jewish Avant Garde
NJCF is creating community for Jewish artists while facilitating the difficult conversations “the Jewish community is afraid to have.”
How to Pitch Jewish Arts and Culture Stories (and Everything Else)
Practical advice on pitching your arts and culture stories to Jewish publications—and everybody else.
Artists on Artists: Tiffany Shlain
Another informative and inspirational installment of Artists on Artists. This time it’s Tiffany Shlain on the bold Jewish artists whose work informs her own.
The Jewish Arts and Culture Renaissance is Flowering!
Despite all that’s going on in the world—or perhaps in part due to it—something wonderful is brewing in the world of Jewish arts and culture. Here is a sampling of what CANVAS grantees have been up to.
The Museum of Jewish Montreal: “Digging up the Past to Inspire the Future”
With a new home and a new vision, The Museum of Jewish Montreal is becoming a gathering place for Jewish creatives and the local community.
Kolture: A Unique Curated Platform for Jewish Arts and Culture
Kolture.org is an ambitious digital hub presenting a curated selection of international Jewish arts and culture—architecture, dance, music, literary works, visual arts, and more.
CANVAS Gratitude Alert!
This is the time of year when we feel compelled to express our gratitude: for contemporary Jewish creativity, for our good fortune to be able to support it, and for you.
“Hollywoodland”: The Academy Museum’s Exhibition on the Jews Who Made Hollywood
The Academy Museum’s “Hollywoodland” exhibit will focus on the film industry’s pioneering Jewish leaders. We talked to the curator about Hollywood history and what viewers can expect at the museum.
The Cultural Leadership Program: The Mandel Institute’s Bold New Program to Train Jewish Artists
The Mandel Institute’s unique Cultural Leadership Program is predicated on the idea that Jewish creativity is already crucial in shaping the present and future of Jewish life, as well the culture at large.
Artists on Artists: Tom Haviv and Eden Pearlstein of Ayin Press
“Where the ground of history meets the horizon of imagination.” This week we’re delighted to bring another installment of Artists on Artists curated by two creative Jewish multidisciplinary artists.
“I’m Thrilled AJT Exists”: How the Alliance for Jewish Theatre Supports, Promotes, and Connects Jewish Theatre Artists
The Alliance for Jewish Theatre, a CANVAS Emerging Network Grantee, is one of the few organizations promoting the creation and presentation of theatre about the Jewish experience.
“Natural Allies”: In a difficult time, museum professionals are reimagining the future of identity-based institutions
In the current environment of toxic bigotry and political polarization, how should cultural institutions respond?
“An Incredible Match”: On the Creation of a Play about Jewish Divorce
Rattlestick’s exciting (and very Jewish) new production is the result of a collaboration between the theater company and a synagogue.
From “Cartoonist” to “Jewish Artist”: How Jewish Arts and Culture Networks Gave Me Inspiration and Confidence
Artist and poet Jake Goldwasser explains how Asylum Arts and The New Jewish Culture Fellowship helped him reconsider his Jewish identity and how he thinks about himself as an artist.
A Nosh from the Buffet: Selections from CANVAS Media Grantees
Last week we filled you in on fall offerings from our Jewish arts and culture network grantees. This week, we’re bringing you up to date on another important focus for CANVAS: media grantees.
A Cornucopia of Jewish Arts and Culture: Fall Offerings from CANVAS Grantees
This autumn is a big one for CANVAS grantees. We’ve got the High Holidays coming, as well as a return to in-person events—and a continuation of on-line offerings as well.
CANVAS Year Two: Moving Forward, Looking Back
This is the time of year when we share what we at CANVAS have been up to. It’s our annual peek behind the curtain to help explain our grantmaking and field-building efforts for the Jewish arts and culture world. It is also a chance to share how we’ve grown.
The Creative, Strategic Philanthropy of the Azrieli Foundation
During his lengthy career, David Azrieli (1922-2014) was responsible for some of the largest real estate projects in Canada and Israel. But Azrieli was more than an extraordinary businessperson; he was extraordinarily civic-minded as well.
Jewish Art Salon: An International Network of Artists and Scholars
With over 400 members, JAS is the largest network for artists, curators, and scholars who work with contemporary Jewish art. Through its auspices, artists and arts professionals have seen their careers elevated, their community strengthened, and above all, found a place where Jewish expression is encouraged.
Artists on Artists: Yevgeniy Fiks and Maria Veits
The CANVAS Compendium returns from summer hiatus with an installment of Artists on Artists, when Jewish creatives share the work of Jewish artists they admire. This time we invited Yevgeniy Fiks and Maria Veits to choose artists, as their multinational project, Yiddishland Pavilion, is currently fascinating visitors online and at the Venice Biennale. Yevgeniy Fiks is a Moscow-born New York-based artist, author, and organizer of art exhibitions. His work is inspired by the collapse of the...
Kultura Collective: Fostering Collaboration and Jewish Creativity in Toronto
“Toronto’s arts and culture scene is one to watch, and its Jewish ecosystem within it is thriving with world-class creativity.” So said Sam Mogelonsky, and she should know. Not only is she an accomplished visual artist, curator, and designer in her own right, she also is Director of Arts, Culture, and Heritage for the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, and she heads up the Kultura Collective, an exciting UJA Federation of Greater Toronto initiative promoting bridge-building opportunities...
Seeing Ourselves on the Page:
The Global Impact of PJ Library
Born and raised in rural Vermont, Naomi Shulman was one of only three Jewish kids at her school. The books she read when she was younger had “incidentally Jewish” characters, if they had them at all.Later, as a burgeoning children’s book author and mother of two, Shulman noticed there were still very few books that spoke to her own experience. So she wrote her own.“I wanted to represent rural Jewish life,” Shulman said. “Yitzi, The Trusty Tractor was the kind of book I wish I had been able to...